Breading machines are used in commercial food preparation settings where breaded food products must be supplied for frying or other cooking processes in large quantities on short notice. Fast food restaurants specializing in fried chicken, fish, etc. are exemplary of such settings. Typically, a food product coated with a batter of some sort is placed in a breading machine and conveyed to a breading station. The breading machines are constructed with reservoirs sized to contain significant amounts of breading material. The breading material is particulate and, when conveyed through the breading machine, tends to flow like a fluid. Breading material is conveyed through the reservoir with the food product to the breading station. The battered food product is coated with breading material at the breading station. The breaded product is then discharged from the machine and breading material that does not adhere to the product is recycled through the breading machine reservoir.
After use for a time, recycled breading material becomes moistened by batter from the food products processed through the machine. This can change the way in which the breading material flows as it is conveyed through the reservoir. In some circumstances breading material can become packed as it is "pumped" through the reservoir toward the breading station. In such cases breading material sometimes wells up and spills out of the machine
Prior art machines were sometimes constructed with a one-piece tamper located at the breading station for spreading breading material over the food products. The prior art tampers were formed by relatively heavy gage, circularly curved, sheet metal members. The tamper radii of curvature were large so the tampers were gently curved. The convex side of the tamper rode on products passing through the breading station. When used for breading "flat" food products, like ground veal patties, these tampers were ineffective to fully bread the product because they did not sufficiently mound breading material at the breading station. Flat food products often had unbreaded, central "seams" along the upper sides.
Health regulations or restaurant policies dictate that food processing machines be thoroughly cleaned on a regular basis. Breading machines are constructed so that they may be disassembled-by hand-quickly and easily for cleaning. Such machines are often fabricated from stainless steel sheet metal parts, stainless steel shafts, conveyor belts, etc. that lend themselves to frequent cleaning, but are heavy.
In the past, restaurant workers lifted and carried the breading reservoir and associated components when cleaning the machine or changing the breading material. For example, changing the product being breaded sometimes requires changing the breading material being applied. The breading material reservoir must be emptied and refilled. When the machine must be cleaned, the reservoir, which may be full of recycled breading material that has been thoroughly moistened by batter, must be emptied. In each case, the machine components forming the reservoir and associated components, together with sodden breading material in the reservoir, can make the reservoir and associated parts quite heavy. Furthermore, the reservoirs, with their associated components, are unwieldy.
Prior art breading machines were so constructed and arranged that removing breading material from the breading reservoirs was time consuming. The simplest method for removing the breading material was to pick up the reservoir and associated components and tip the reservoir enough to dump the breading. This procedure often required partially disassembling the machine--e.g. removing the conveyor driving connections.
The present invention provides a new and improved breading machine and method of operating a breading machine wherein the breading material reservoir is emptied quickly and easily without lifting or otherwise moving the reservoir.
The invention further provides a new an improved breading machine having a one-piece tamper that is constructed and arranged for mounding breading material so that flat food products passing through the machine are fully breaded.
Still further, the invention provides a new and improved breading machine wherein packed breading material being conveyed to the breading station does not spill from the reservoir.